Monday, November 16, 2009

Gracie had been acting listless for the last week or so, which prompted a visit to the vet on Friday. And the discovery that Gracie is suffering from diabetes. One more rotten blow in a life that has been less than ideal.

Gracie has spent her whole life leary and fearful of humans. Only in the last few months has she come to appreciate and enjoy a tender touch from a human. She's amazed me in her progress and how enthusiastically she's come to enjoy a head rub. Her loud, content purring has warmed my heart. It is so gratifying to see her happy. Given her new zest for human companionship, I was feeling encouraged that she would soon find a forever home to enjoy her golden years.

So it is particularly heartbreaking to see her options suddenly narrow. In a perfect world, Gracie's condition would not be so dire - with one or two injections of insulin a day, her health should rebound and she should live to enjoy a good handful of years. Insulin is not expensive (less than $1 per day) and injections are easy to give.

However, Gracie has been living the last two months in a boarding facility - very nice and cosy with lots of human interaction but unfortunately, not staffed enough to insure regular injections. I so wish that I could care for her but in a little over a month, I will be unavailable.

I am hoping and praying that in the next few weeks, Gracie finally gets a little bit of good luck and I find some kind soul who will give her the home she so much needs - one where she will be able to get the TLC she so deserves and the medical care she so much needs. Failing that, I'm hoping to find someone willing to foster her at least until the end of February.